


the lingering aftertaste of you

by SunflowerEnthusiast



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: A3 Rarepair Week 2020, Character Death, M/M, this is technically walter x beelzebub from stray devil blues, walter is already dead but I'll still tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:53:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25379449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunflowerEnthusiast/pseuds/SunflowerEnthusiast
Summary: A fic about Beelzebub eating the last quiche Walter left for him.
Relationships: Fushimi Omi/Guy
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12
Collections: A3! Rare Pairs Week 2020





	the lingering aftertaste of you

**Author's Note:**

> There's a lot I want to say because I purposefully left this fic short since I feel like it suits them better this way, but the fact that they're actually attracted to each other barely gets to come through because of that, so... yeah. Also I'd like to apologize for my poor descriptions of food. I wanted to be more specific, but I lack the knowledge for that, unfortunately 
> 
> Warnings: (Canon) character death, spoilers for the story of Stray Devil Blues

Humans are fleeting, foolish creatures. 

Because they have such short lives, they struggle to fulfill their own wishes and are even willing to beg devils to grant their wishes for them. Selling their souls for the sake of a petty wish… Humans really are such foolish creatures. 

However, devils live for eternity. With barely anything else for entertainment, one of the few things left for devils to kill time is to create contracts with humans. Beelzebub, as well, has fallen prey to this form of spending his time. 

But there's also another reason for him to do such things.

Beelzebub enjoys food. 

Devils don't need to eat. They'll live for eternity even if they don't eat. However, they do have a sense of taste. Once Beelzebub tasted food for the first time, he couldn't forget it. There's a certain… joy and satisfaction in consuming the delicious substance that humans call “food.” It is satisfying to Beelzebub in a way that causing chaos and fighting is not.

(He supposes he'll never understand Satan.)

Because of Beelzebub's preference for delicious food, he tends to form contracts with humans who know how to cook. He's formed contracts with all kinds of people—a female barkeep who died trying to save the woman she was going to run away with, a restaurant owner who was eventually murdered by a section of that town's criminals, a boy who was trying to become a cook that ended up dying to Beelzebub’s contract because he couldn't bring himself to kill another contractor. Beelzebub has lost count of how many humans he's formed contracts with over the years. 

Yet, strangely enough, he can recall bits and pieces of the insignificant humans who have already died. The barkeep—he remembers how the special alcoholic beverage she created burned as it went down, but left a sweet aftertaste on the tongue. She had named the drink after her love, and Beelzebub can still see in his mind the prideful grin on her face as she told him that. The restaurant owner—he was a quiet man on the older side, and his food was rich in flavor. In particular, his carbonara was especially delicious because he always used high-grade meat and cheese for the dish. The young cook—he was a hopeful thing, full of energy and what humans call “affection,” even for a devil like Beelzebub. His favorite dish to make was omelets, and every day, he would make a different kind of omelet and give some to Beelzebub, granting Beelzebub a reason to want to see his contractor every day. 

But, in the end, they all died. They died in different ways, but they're all gone now, lost in the cycle of reincarnation. Humans are fragile beings, apt to have their life cut short by the smallest of occurrences. The remaining humans howl with grief at the loss of life and shed tears for something they couldn't have changed once that lost person's fate was decided. They're lowly, emotional, irrational creatures. 

Somehow, though. 

Beelzebub finds that he doesn't hate them.

* * *

The small back room of the church is cold from the breeze flowing in through the cracks on the wall and ceiling. Even though the front of the church looks fine, the back is not so. There's a simple bed in the corner with a nightstand next to it, upon which rests a Bible and a vase of wilting flowers. Other than the bed, there's a small kitchen with just enough of the barest essentials to call it a kitchen, and a dining table with two chairs rests in the other corner. 

Though the room is extremely small to a being who has soared the skies, Beelzebub doesn't dislike it. 

The man who used to live in this room has already left this world, and all that's left behind is the last quiche he made for Beelzebub. He approaches the table where it's been placed, and he takes a seat in the chair he usually sits in. There is no note or anything resembling one left behind on the quiche; Walter most likely assumed he would be able to speak to Beelzebub again. 

Well, Walter was never fond of Beelzebub in the first place. 

Beelzebub takes off the cover atop the plate and is about to dig into the quiche when he remembers that the dish is best eaten warm. Obviously, the quiche has chilled due to sitting outside for around a day now. Beelzebub debates with himself for a moment. Does he really care about eating it at a warm temperature? 

If it improves the taste, then yes. 

And, for some reason, Beelzebub thinks it would be a waste to eat Walter's last dish cold. 

Beelzebub replaces the cover onto the plate and hovers his palms over the cover. He summons ghastly flames to dance in his hands, and he lets the hellfire warm up the food. He supposes this isn't how you would do it “traditionally,” but devils don't care about tradition. 

As Beelzebub waits for the quiche to warm up, the face of the man who made it flashes through his mind. Because he has nothing else to do, he allows his thoughts to drift. 

Walter, a priest who formed a contract with Beelzebub because he felt as if he had to punish the humans who were forming contracts with devils. He was what humans would call “mad.” Somewhere along the way, Walter lost his sanity and fell into the darkness. To a devil like Beelzebub, it doesn't matter either way, but he does think that it's much more interesting when a human is dyed in darkness rather than bathed in the light. 

Walter never liked Beelzebub, but Beelzebub didn't take particular interest in that fact. It didn't matter to him if his contractor liked him or not; he just wanted to eat and have the contract fulfilled. As for Walter, Beelzebub is sure that he was a nuisance to the priest. Though Walter agreed to the contract and was willing used Beelzebub's power, he thought of Beelzebub as a necessary evil at best. Beelzebub was just a means to an end to him—nothing more. 

Beelzebub prefers it that way. After all, human contractors are all just a means to an end as well—a means to cure boredom for even just the briefest amount of time. 

The quiche is warm. Beelzebub takes off the cover and cuts into it with his fork before bringing a slice of it up to his mouth. The quiche has plenty of ham and bacon stuffed into it, just the way Beelzebub likes it. He's very fond of meat, something that Walter knew well. 

Beelzebub swallows bite after bite. Soon, the last dish Walter made for him will be gone. 

Walter's cooking is some of the best Beelzebub has consumed as far as he can remember. Maybe he’s eaten more delicious food at a different time, but he already can't remember such things. For the him of this moment, Walter's cooking is the best thing he's ever tasted. 

The quiche is savory, and the taste of the cheese blends well with the meat. Though Beelzebub knows the names of some ingredients, he doesn't recognize what kind of cheese this is. It's a shame that he can't ask Walter what kind of cheese he used to make this quiche. 

Beelzebub scoops up the last bite of the quiche. He raises it to his mouth—and stops. 

Walter is gone. Another contractor, another death. It's only natural. 

Walter used to be a kind priest, and all he wanted was to save the people of this town. Somewhere along the line, he tasted despair and lost his mind. He was a simple man with a simple dream who lost his dream to the cruelty of this world. A fool, honestly. 

Beelzebub puts the rest of the quiche in his mouth, chews for a moment, and swallows. The warm taste of the quiche slides down his throat with ease. 

Walter's food has a warmth that lingers with you even after you finish eating it. Beelzebub has never understood this feeling when eating Walter's food, which was the first thing that left him with this feeling. 

Even now, he doesn't understand. 

Beelzebub thinks of the smile that would sometimes appear on Walter's face when he was cooking. According to Walter, cooking was something that had been enjoyable to him for years. 

Though Walter seemed to hate Beelzebub purely because he was an unholy being, he still talked to him about things that didn't matter such as that. 

Beelzebub wonders why—but that's a question that will never be answered.

“Thank you for the food.” 

Beelzebub is a devil; there is no obligation for him to heed human tradition or abide by human morals. And yet, he finds himself standing and bowing to the plate, giving his last thanks to his contractor for the food. Beelzebub takes the wilting flowers out of the vase and lays them upon the plate. 

Beelzebub is a heartless devil, yes. 

He flies out the window and onto the roof, sitting on top of the church and surveying the town below him. Life continues on as usual, not a thing out of place. No one stops to give their prayers to the priest who lost his life. 

But being around humans for so long may have taught him a thing or two about what they call “courtesy.” 

Beelzebub spreads his wings once more. Perhaps he'll refrain from forming any more contracts for some time. 

_May you rest in peace._

The thought doesn't suit Beelzebub at all, but—

He thinks of Lucifer, chasing after the same soul for countless years. 

… Lucifer's plight doesn't seem as incomprehensible as it used to, somehow. 

Accompanied by the lingering warmth of Walter's food and the aftertaste of the quiche, Beelzebub returns to the realm of the devils to be alone once more. 

Humans are… fleeting, foolish creatures.


End file.
